Real war is hell. I got injured many times, 4 purple hearts. In AFR, what you had experienced, the lack of weapons, ridiculous equipment, the desperation, even loadout difficulties, even the ridiculous comments in the command briefings are real life. I have seen your reactions in playing AFR and TBG, there are exactly what I have felt in real combat situations and in my career as a soldier... I've seen hell, I don't want to go there again. But what I did in AFR and TBG is to give players the taste of war. I mean, all the briefings are not accurate, even the command briefings. The GTVA High Council (the Security Council) tells you lies, even in the techroom descriptions. But... you are right about one thing... AFR is an experience. No plot, No story... but an experience. An experience I had and tried very hard to forget.
However, in TBG, all these questions are answered. But the narratives are still the point of view of the GTVA High Council or High Command, and they could be lying.
The secrets of the narrative of AFR and TBG is with me and CT27, of course. And everybody else can speculate or redicule about it.
I will post a thread in HLP regarding the secrets of AFR and TBG soon.